I was appalled to learn that the youthful terrorist, Omar Khadr, who threw a grenade at our American allies, killing one of them, is being given a stipend of some millions of dollars from Canada for the deed.

Some say he was only a youth at the time. Unfortunately, I still think of him as a terrorist in training following in the footsteps of his father and brother. This payout to Khadr is a disgrace and an insult to all Canadian veterans.

It is morally reprehensible that the Trudeau government is reportedly considering an agreement to offer convicted terrorist Omar Khadr a full "apology" and award him more than $10 million in compensation. Despite what this government wants Canadians to believe, Omar Khadr is not a victim.

Omar Khadr is a convicted terrorist and war criminal. His personal and deliberate actions took the life of medic Sergeant First Class (SFC) Christopher Speer from his wife and young children. Mr. Khadr was an active and willing member of the Taliban. He built and planed bombs for the Taliban. He worked as a translator for the terrorist organization. His conscious and deliberate, premeditated and violent actions, fuelled by a devotion to intolerance and hate, deserve the strongest condemnation. They should not be rewarded.

Omar Khadr comes from a family deeply connected to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. His father, Ahmed Khadr was arrested and charged with aiding terrorism in relation to the bombing of the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan in 1999 that saw 19 people killed. At that time, the Canadian government considered him the highest-ranking Al-Qaeda member operating in our country. In the 2003 Ahmed was killed fighting alongside Taliban and Al Qaeda members. Another son Abdul was injured in the same airstrike.

Omar Khadr looks out the window of his home on May 9, 2015, two days after being freed after having spent nearly half of his life in custody.

The details of the firefight that injured Omar Khadr prove he was an active terrorist fighter and not the innocent child portrayed by some. The firefight lasted over four hours, within which time there were multiple opportunities for Taliban members to surrender. Omar Khadr fought on. Even after Mr. Khadr was wounded and pulled out of the fight, he cursed the American personnel working to save his life, and told them he wanted to die as a martyr.

Of course, the Trudeau government will say he was just a "child solider." This is a reprehensible defence that denigrates the trials and tribulations of real child soldiers. Even in Canada, those who commit similar murderous crimes are tried as adults.

A courtroom sketch shows defendant Omar Khadr (C) pleading guilty under oath to all five terrorism charges against him in a U.S. war crimes tribunal.

During the civil war in Sierra Leone, state forces kidnapped children as young as seven and forced them into combat. Their captors forced them to consume alcohol and hallucinogenic drugs. Children were sexually exploited, raped, forced to commit murder and were even made to mutilate others. They were child soldiers.

By contrast, Omar Khadr was less than two months shy of his 16th birthday when he murdered SFC Speer. Footage aired on the popular American television program 60 Minutes shows Khadr laughing and joking while making and planting the kind of explosive devices that killed 97 Canadians in Afghanistan. Omar Khadr was no child soldier. Had he not been injured and apprehended that July day, he would have attempted to kill more NATO troops, and may have succeeded.

Make no mistake about it, Omar Khadr chose willingly to wage war on the side of the Taliban.

Mr. Khadr's defenders will point to his youthfulness as a reason to offer him leniency. This is absurd. In Canada, judges are commonly petitioned to sentence youth as adults. It requires the judge to determine whether the crime committed is severe and demonstrates premeditation.

Cody Barnoski of Coburg, Ont. was 14 when he killed his mother. He received an adult sentence. Justin Morton of Oakville, Ont. was sentenced as an adult for using a belt to strangle a classmate at the age of 14. There are other sad examples.

Those doubting whether Khadr is guilty of premeditated crimes need only review the footage of him playfully preparing IEDs.

Make no mistake about it, Omar Khadr chose willingly to wage war on the side of the Taliban.

Contrary to propaganda, Mr. Khadr confessed to his crimes freely and of his own volition via the criminal justice system. He plead guilty in a court of law to crimes including murder, attempted murder, spying, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism.

Two weeks before Omar Khadr murdered him, SFC Speer was awarded the Soldier's Medal for risking his own life to save two Afghan children trapped in a minefield. In return, his life was taken from him by a terrorist. Canadians do not owe Omar Khadr an apology and we certainly don't owe him a cash prize.

Moreover, the Trudeau Government promised in the last election to support veterans, which it has so far failed. No Canadian veteran who carries the physical or psychological wounds of an IED deserves less than the level of compensation now awarded to the man who planted such bombs.

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

Mr. Khadr’s payout

Your editorial Khadr, Arar And The Fragile Rule Of Law (July 5) eloquently laid out the argument for the payout to Omar Khadr. However, your adjacent editorial cartoon (which far more people will look at than the editorial) suggests the payout is somehow a slap in the face for Canadian vets.

There are many arguments why our veterans are shortchanged. The payout to Omar Khadr is not one of them.

Kelly MacGregor, Toronto

..........................................

Justin Trudeau will apologize to Omar Khadar, who pleaded guilty in a U.S. military court to murder.

Apparently the apology is not enough, so he will be awarded $10.5-million to compensate for his treatment in Guantanamo. This insults the widow and children of U.S. Army medic Sgt. Christopher Speer, who was killed during the firefight in Afghanistan in which Mr. Khadr was captured. The decision also insults the Canadian soldiers who fought alongside American troops in Afghanistan, where 159 Canadian Forces personnel lost their lives.

Canadian soldiers who were severely wounded in Afghanistan must wonder at the justice of this decision when they compare the meager compensation they received for their life-changing injuries with the reward being given to Mr. Khadr who, if given the opportunity, would have targeted Canadian soldiers.

Bill Beswetherick, Canadian Forces veteran, Seeley’s Bay, Ont.

..........................................

It is not surprising that voices are raised in righteous opposition to the payment of millions of dollars to a combatant in a jihadi cause. This kind of remuneration for ills stemming from Canadian oversight is inappropriate.

The dragnet that found Omar Khadr and lumped him in with all the hostiles in Gitmo was pure military procedure. According to Canadian law, it was wrong to treat the young fighter in an al-Qaeda cause as an adult. In defence of the Canadian citizen, who must now pay Mr. Khadr $10.5-million, we had delegated responsibility to Ottawa, and we trusted that Canada was a society following the rule of law.

The pattern of payments made to unfortunate people who fall through the cracks when unwitting officials fail to perform their duties is beginning to resemble guilt abatement. Canada must look deeper, find lasting ways to remember and not repeat errors that victimize innocent people.

A century from now, the millions paid to Mr. Khadr will have been forgotten. A public monument to his memory would have a lasting effect. Guilt abatement in pecuniary terms is a tawdry and tiresome burden with very little constructive benefit to Canada.

Hugh McKechnie, Newmarket, Ont.

..........................................

Khadr, Arar And The Fragile Rule Of Law (July 5) is the best editorial I can remember reading in The Globe And Mail.

I’m sure there have been days when I have said the same thing about other Globe editorials, but this one towers.

Looks like the Liberals are seeking attention again, regardless if this all began on the Conservatives watch, and blame it on the legal system, it is on the Liberals watch now. Again another embarrassment forced upon our Country by those in charge of running the Country.There should be a high court in place who can garnish the PM's pay and his kids pay for life to pay for this settlement, perhaps then the PM would step in the legal system to stop this nonsense and embarrassment to this Country.

Here is a wake up call to those in charge of this Country, a story such as this is viewed worldwide, don't you think this sends a message to those willing to cause harm to a population to make their way here?

So Kahdr's father used Jean Chretien to get him out of jail after being accused of planning the bombing of an Egyptian Embassy.

His younger brother who was injured in the same battle Omar KILLED an army medic was escorted back to Ontario by his mother to get medical treatment because Dalton McGuinty said he is an Ontarion and deserves the best medical care he can get. Even though the whole fam damily called Canada a corrupt society.

“It’s a real head scratcher let me tell you,” said retired sergeant Layne Morris, who was not only there when Speer died in Afghanistan in 2002 but lost an eye in the firefight.

“Typically, criminals pay for their crimes but this time we are paying the criminal for his crimes,” added the former American soldier. “It’s kind of ass backwards you have to admit.”

It’s blood money. For the Trudeau government, it’s a deal with the Devil.

Only in Canada could a combatant who fought against us, was convicted of killing one of our close ally’s soldiers and served eight-years in Guantanamo Bay be awarded an outrageous $10.5-million — and also receive an apology.

“As far as I am concerned — if you know the history of this case — that whole Khadr family owes humanity an apology,” said Morris, 55, just before getting ready for July 4th fireworks at his home in Utah. “I don’t understand the government giving him reward for this. His reward is being alive because an American medic like Speer used his special skills to keep him alive. He would have bled out in 30 more seconds.”

The logic of this boggles the mind.

“I can tell you I can certainly think of more worthy causes to use more than $10-million for,” said former Conservative defence minister Julian Fantino. “Just think of what that money could do to help our veterans and their families who actually served the country.”

Someone like wounded Canadian Afghanistan veteran Bruce Moncur who received just $22,000 for losing part of this brain. Another wounded veteran, Paul Franklin, got $276,000 for losing both limbs.

And how much does Wounded Warriors Canada — which supports veterans who lost body parts or suffer from PTSD — receive from the government?

“Zero,” said Executive Director Scott Maxwell.

He’s not asking for any, either. But on a day when $10 million-plus is going to a former enemy is not something that slides by without notice.

Who would want to serve if the guys on the other side are getting the cash and respect while the good guys get kicked the curb?

“We have lost more soldiers who served in Afghanistan to suicide than we did the 158 who died in battle there,” said Maxwell.

The other people we think about on such a day are widow Tabitha Speer and her fatherless kids, as well as special forces soldier Morris.

Both have won a $102-million settlement in American courts against Khadr but it’s unclear if they will ever get to see any of it.

“The truth that $10-million is actually our money,” said Morris. “It’s not a lock that it won’t be. The attorneys are working on it. For me it’s more symbolic but who I feel for is Tabitha who is raising children and has far more financial pressure than I do. For her, I hope that there is something that can be done.”

But, he said, it’s not lost on him that “in this case, the killer is the one who gets compensated.” He’s not holding his breath.

As for this coming down on July 4th “while it is some salt being rubbed in the wounds, the truth is don’t stay awake at night thinking about Omar Khadr and I rarely give that turd a second thought.”

WHY??? Good question Dannypaj. This is just disgraceful of our Government. Giving this amount of money and an apology to a "soldier" who fought alongside his father, a "a top al-Qaeda operative", for the enemy is just WRONG. Who knows how many Amercian and Canadian Troops were killed or injured by this guy. Our Government should have REVOKED his citizenship when he made the decision to LEAVE CANADA to fight in a war years ago. Allowing him to remain a Canadian citizen is suitable enough compensation.

Criticism is mounting over the Trudeau government’s decision to offer an apology and multimillion-dollar compensation package to former child soldier Omar Khadr for abuses he suffered while detained in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Former Conservative defence minister Jason Kenney, now the leader of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party, fired off an angry tweet on Tuesday about the $10.5-million in compensation that Ottawa is prepared to pay Mr. Khadr, who was accused of throwing a grenade that killed U.S. army medic Christopher Speer in the firefight.

During that same firefight in Afghanistan, Mr. Khadr was also accused of blinding in one eye former U.S soldier Layne Morris. Mr. Morris and the widow of Mr. Speer won a $134-million judgment in a Utah court for damages in 2015.

“Odious. Confessed terrorist who assembled & planted the same kind of IEDs that killed 97 Canadians to be given $10-million,” Mr. Kenney tweeted. “Khadr confessed to murdering Christopher Speer, a medic who rushed to his aid. Speer’s family won a $134-million judgment against Khadr.

Stephen Harper’s former campaign manager, Jenni Byrne, also weighted in on Twitter as did many other Canadians.

Mr. Khadr’s lawyer, Dennis Edney has been seeking a formal apology and $20-million in compensation from the Trudeau government for the alleged abuse and neglect of Mr. Khadr while he was in prison. The apology and $10.5-million compensation package was negotiated last month.

The Conservative Party’s Foreign Affairs Critic, Peter Kent, said the party would not have an official comment on the apology and compensation package until the government makes a formal announcement.

“It bothers me,” Mr. Kent said. “The fact that he is living in Canada at liberty should be compensation enough. After all, he is former enemy terrorist combatant.”

“There is a judicial process under way that has been under way for a number of years now and we are anticipating, like I think a number of people are, that that judicial process is coming to its conclusion,” Mr. Trudeau said Tuesday after a meeting in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

The office of Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale was equally circumspect.

“Settlement processes are always strictly confidential by nature. Accordingly, the government is not in a position to provide any further comment one way or another,” Mr. Goodale’s office said in a statement.

Mr. Goodale and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland are the lead ministers on the Khadr file.

Attempts to reach Mr. Edney for comment have been unsuccessful.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2010 that the actions of federal officials who participated in U.S. interrogations of Mr. Khadr had offended “the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.”

The court said the actions of the Canadian government had violated the former child soldier’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and deprived him of fundamental principles of justice.

A federal insider said the announcement of an official apology and compensation is expected this week.

“If the Trudeau government wishes to apologize for errors made in the past, that’s one thing, but handing $10-million in taxpayer money to Khadr is unacceptable,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation director Aaron Wudrick said. “If the federal government has an extra $10-million kicking around they should give it to the families of Canadian military veterans who were killed in Afghanistan by people who were fighting alongside Khadr.”

Mr. Khadr was captured in Afghanistan at the age of 15 in 2002, following a shootout with U.S. troops where he was badly wounded – blinded by shrapnel in one eye and with fist-sized exit wounds in his shoulder and chest.

He was accused of throwing a grenade that killed U.S. army medic Christopher Speer in the firefight and was sent to the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay.

Mr. Khadr, now 30, spent more than 10 years in U.S. and Canadian custody, much of that time in the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. Once the youngest detainee in Guantanamo, he was transferred to Canada in 2012 after accepting a plea deal.

Mr. Edney has said his client was treated abysmally even though he was a child soldier and his body was shattered from wounds. U.S. interrogators subjected him to sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.

Mr. Edney said Mr. Khadr was coerced into fighting by his father, Ahmed Said Khadr – a top al-Qaeda operative until he was killed in a gunfight with Pakistani troops in 2003.

In March, Mr. Khadr underwent a 19-hour operation in an Edmonton hospital to repair his shoulder, which was severely damaged during the firefight with U.S soldiers.

“Nobody advocated for his health whatsoever. Even when he came back to Canada, I raised all those issues with the Correctional Services and of course [former prime minister Stephen] Harper was not interested in hearing anything like that,” Mr. Edney said in an interview last March.

Mr. Khadr was freed on bail in May, 2015, and released under the supervision of Mr. Edney.

He said he would “prove to [Canadians] that I’m a good person.”

The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group and Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada have concluded that Canada contravened its obligations under the Conventions Against Torture by failing to prevent and investigate what happened to Mr. Khadr in Guantanamo Bay.

The apology and compensation is similar to the $10.5-million that Ottawa gave Syrian-born Canadian Maher Arar after a 2006 judicial inquiry found Canadian officials had passed on information about him to U.S. national-security authorities, leading to his torture and imprisonment in Syria.

Last March, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale issued an apology and compensation package to three Muslim Canadian men – Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmatti and Muayyed Nureddin. They had been tortured and held for months in Syria and Egypt, suspected of links to terrorism.

A decade ago, they each filed $100-million lawsuits against Ottawa but halted their legal proceedings to allow former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to conduct an internal inquiry. Mr. Iacobucci ruled in 2008 that Canadian officials were indirectly responsible for their torture.

No Danny you are not out of touch. But like you I am applaud at this. 10,000,000 would go along way in helping us, the Cdn injured Vets. Here,s an idea, how about our Gov apologize to the Veteran Community for taking us to court and breaking promises. WT_ is going on with this gov..Johnny Out..VVV...

MEAN WHILE BACK AT THE RANCH, OUR SOLDIERS WHOM ARE WOUNDED ARE FIGHTING THE COURTS AS WELL!This doesn't make any sense to me what so ever, $10,000,000 for this guy! (None for the fellow American deceased soldier's family?) Sorry, I may be out of touch, but why is he being compensated more then a wounded soldier topped at $360,000 SEE THE INJUSTICE